Apparatus for applying bundling clips



March 4, 1969 w. GEISLER ETAL I 3,430,326

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BUNDLING CLIPS Filed Feb. 7. 1967 Sheet of 5 L INVENTORS N WILLIAM GEISLER BY NORMAN R. CLARK March 4, 1969 w, GE|$LER ETAL 3,430,326

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BUNDLING CLIPS Filed Feb. 7. 1967 Sheet 2 or s I MI I :71, 9 r {Lo (\1 0] 1- (9 in u.

INVENTORS WILLIAM GEISLER BY NORMAN R. CLARK ATTORNEYS March'4, 1969 w. GEISLER ETAL; 3,430,326

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BUNDLING cups Filed Feb. 7. 1967 Sheet of 5 5| 25 23 F I G 3i a INV EN TORS WlLLlAM GEISLER NORMAN R. CLARK ATTORNEYS United States Patent 0 3,430,326 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BUNDLING CLIPS William Geisler and Norman R. Clark, San Francisco,

Calif., assignors to Fibreboard Corporation, San Francisco, Calih, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 614,446 US. Cl. 29211 Int. Cl. F16b 2/24 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention This invention relates to the fastening of articles into unitary bundles, and more particularly to a simple, compact and efiicient mechanism for applying bundling clips to stacked articles.

The handling of flat objects can be facilitated in many instances by fastening a stack of the articles together to form a unitary bundle. Gypsum boards of the type used in building construction are a typical example of materials which are handled in this manner. It is customary in the industry to fasten several such boards together to form a single package for shipping and storage.

One bundling procedure which has been extensively used for this purpose involves wrapping the stack of boards with tape. However, tape is diflicult to apply and remove, and may not provide a particularly strong fastening. To avoid these problems, it has become common practice to make use of bundling clips instead of tape. Such clips, which have a U-shaped configuration and are usually formed of spring steel, clasp the edges of the stack to hold the several component boards together.

This form of bundling operation requires that the arms of the clips be held in a spread position before the clip is applied to the edge of the stack. While this operation may be performed manually with the aid of simple tools, it is usually more efllcient to utilize a power-driven mech anism for this purpose. Where the stacked boards are carried on a conveyor, a pair of such mechanisms may be disposed at opposite sides of the conveyor and may be arranged for automatic operation in conjunction with the conveyor to apply clips to opposite sides of each passing stack.

As heretofore constructed, clip applying mechanisms have tended to be extremely complex and costly, and require considerable maintenance effort. This results in part from the requirement that the arms of the clip be spread while the clip is carried onto the stack without obstructing the region between the arms in such a way as to prevent emplacement of the clip. To meet this requirement, prior clip applying mechanisms have involved a complicated set of mechanical fingers, operated by a series of fluid drive cylinders. These elements must undergo a complex motion in order to grip the arms of the clip without obstructing the center thereof and to spread the arms and maintain this condition while moving the clip onto the stack. The fingers must then release the clip and retract from the stack.

In most cases, proper functioning of the prior clip appliers requires that the fingers or other elements of the ice mechanism contact and forcibly bear against the stacked articles. This is undesirable in that it may dent, abrade, or otherwise damage some materials.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides a much simplified clip applier in which the arms of the clip are spread by a wedging element which is directly in the path of the clip as it is driven towards the stacked articles. As the clip moves onto the stack, the spreader element withdraws to one side so that the clip arms may continue moving over and under the stack and engage thereon with a snapping movement. This mode of operation requires only a small number of moving parts which may move only in a linear manner, and all of which may be operated by a single drive means. Further, there need not be any direct contact between the stacked articles and components of the clip applier.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to facilitate the forming of flat articles into unitary bundles by providing a simple, compact and reliable mechanism for applying bundling clips thereto.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a mechanism for applying bundling clips which requires a relatively small number of moving parts which move linearly and can be operated by a single drive element.

It is still another object of this invention to provide apparatus for applying bundling clips to stacked articles in which the articles need be contacted only by the clip.

The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof will best be understood by reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings In the accompanying drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a mechanism for applying bundling clips in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan section view of a portion of the mechanism of FIGURE 1 taken along line 22 thereof and showing structure of internal elements of the apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a section view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 further clarifying the internal construction of the apparatus;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus corresponding to FIGURE 2 with moving elements in a changed position such as occurs at an intermediate stage in the operation of the mechanism; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus corresponding to FIGURE 2 and showing the moving elements as situated at the completion of a clip applying stroke.

Description of a preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIGURE 1 thereof, a clip applier 11 in accordance with the invention may be operated by a pneumatic cylinder 12 having a barrel 13 and extensible rod 14, other drive means of the type providing a linear motion being also adaptable for this purpose. Drive cylinder 12 may be mounted on a base plate 16 having a more elevated section 16' which extends forwardly from the cylinder to support the other elements of the clip applier 11.

Referring now to FIGURE 2 in conjunction with FIGURE 1, the bundle 17 to which a clip 18 is to be applied, which may be composed of stacked gypsum boards 19, for example, is positioned adjacent the forward end 15 of base plate section 16 in parallel relationship thereto and slightly spaced therefrom to provide clearance for the clip. This positioning of the bundle 17 may be done manually or by any of the suitable conveyor systems well known to the art.

A rectangular clip entry block 21 and a parallel rectangular body block 22 are secured to the base plate section 16 by bolts 23, and are spaced apart a small distance to define a thin, fiat passage 24 for guiding the clip 18 toward the bundle 17. For this purpose, the blocks 21 and 22, and thus the passage 24, are oriented perpendicular to the forward edge of base plate section 1'6 and parallel with the direction of movement of the rod 14 of the pneumatic cylinder 12. Clip entry block 21 is of less length than the base plate section 16' and has one end flush with the end 15 thereof while the body block 22 terminates a small distance inwardly from the end 15 of the base plate. A top plate 25 spans the clip entry block 21 and body block 22 and is secured thereto by the vertical bolts 23.

As best shown in FIGURE 3, the clips 18 in this example are of the known type formed of spring steel and which have a U-shaped configuration with the arms 26 of each clip having a small amount of inward curvature near the ends. Clip entry block 21 is transpier-ced by a curved slot 27 having a configuration conforming to that of the clips 18 so that the clips may be continuously fed into the passage 24 between blocks 21 and 22 from a magazine 28 shown in FIGURES l and 2.

.Referring now to FIGURE 2 in particular, magazine 28 is comprised of a long bar 29 extending sidewardly from clip entry block at slot 27, the bar having a crosssectional configuration conforming to the profile of the clips 18 so that a supply of the clips may be slidably carried on the bar and successively fed into the slot. To drive the clips 18 into slot 27 in this manner, a slidable sleeve 31 is carried on bar 29 and means are provided to maintain a continuous force on the sleeve in the direction of the clip entry block. For this purpose, a cable 32 may be extended from the sleeve 31 to a pulley 33 mounted on a bracket 34 at clip entry block 21, a weight 36 being attached to the lower end of the cable below the pulley as shown in FIGURE 1. The sleeve 31 may be spring loaded where space restrictions at the work site are not conducive to the use of the weight and pulley system.

Referring again to FIGURES 1 and 2, the clips 18 are driven within pasage 24 towards the bundle 17 by a fiat clip setting blade 37 which has an end 38 extending into the passage. Blade 37 is operated by rod 14 of the pneumatic cylinder 12 and is connected thereto through a hollow, rectangular operating block 39. The end of rod 14 is threadably engaged in the adjacent end of the block 39 with a lock nut 41 being provided on the rod and a'butted against the block to strengthen the coupling therebetween. The rearward end of the clip setting blade 37 extends into a slot 42 in the opposite end of block 39 and is secured therein by transverse bolts 43 engaged in the block. Thus extension of the pneumatic cylinder rod 14 drives the clip setting blade 37 in the direction of bundle 17 and the forward end 38 of the blade carries the clip 18 within the passage 24 in a similar direction. To avoid distortion or misalignment of the clip 18 as it is carried towards bundle 17, the adjacent end 38 of the clip setting blade 37 has a curvature conforming to that of the portion of the clip which is contacted by the blade. Thus, the blade end 38 is concave in profile, as shown in FIGURE 3, and is concave in cross section as shown in FIGURE 2.

Extension of the pneumatic cylinder rod 14 is limited by abutment of the operating block 39 against clip entry block 21 and body block 22. Clip setting blade 37 is proportioned so that at this extreme position, the end 38 of the blade is flush with the end surface 15 of base plate section 16. Thus, the clip 18 is carried to the position illustrated at 18 in FIGURE 3 at which it is ejected from the end of passage 24 and is clear of the clip applier mechanism 11. To allow the clip 18 to reach this position, it is necessary that means be provided for spreading the arms 26 of the clip as it moves Within the passage 24 so that the arms may pass above and below the bundle 17. This function is performed by a clip spreader 44 which extends across the passage 24 during the initial and intermediate periods of clip movement.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 in conjunction, clip spreader 44 is secured by bolts 46 to one end of a cam block 47 disposed adjacent body block 22 on the opposite side thereof from clip entry block 21. Clip spreader 44 is secured to the cam block 47 at right angles thereto and extends across the end of body block 22 and across passage 24 and into a shallow recess 48in clip entry block 21. As best shown in FIGURE 3, the portion of clip spreader 44 which intersects passage 24 and extends into recess 48 is formed with a pair of oppositely sloping wedge surfaces 49 facing the interior of passage 24 and positioned to be contacted by the ends of the arms 26 of the clip 18 as it moves toward bundle 17. As the clip setting blade 37 continues to drive the clip 18 towards bundle 17, the arms 26 of the clip must override the wedge surfaces 49 of the clip spreader 44, and thus are forced away from each other. To provide space for the expansion of the clip in this manner, a longitudinal groove 51 extends along the underside of top plate 25 between the blocks 21 and 22 and a short similar groove 52 is provided in the base plate section 16 near the end 15 thereof. To decrease wearing of the inclined surfaces 49 of the clip spreader 44, inserts 53 of a suitably hard material, such as carbide steel, may be disposed thereagainst.

While the clip spreader 44 functions to expand the clip 18 to the point where it may fit onto the bundle 17, the movement of the clip cannot be completed as long as the spreader remains in its initial position at which it obstructs the end of passage 24. Accordingly, mechanism must be provided for removing the spreader 44 from passage 24 at a precisely timed point in the movement of the clip.

Referring now again to FIGURE 2 in particular, a timed sideward Withdrawal of the spreader 44 from passage 24 is provided for by cam block actuator 54 which moves the cam block 47 outward from body block 22 at a predetermined point in the extension movement of cylinder rod 14. To provide for this motion, the cam block 47 is coupled to the body block 22 by a yieldable resilient connection. In particular, a rectangular plate 56 is secured to the outer surface of the cam block 47 by bolts 57, and a pair of pins 58 are transpierced through both the plate 56 and the cam block and have ends 59 of reduced diameter which are threadably engaged in the body block 22.

-Thus, the cam block 47, carrying the clip spreader 44,

may move sidewardly away from the body block 22 and passage 24 by sliding along the pins 58. To resist such movement in a yieldable manner, compression springs 61 are disposed on each of the pins 58 between the plate 56 and an enlarged head 62 on each pin. Thus, the springs 61 tend to hold the cam block 47 against body block 22 and therefore tend to hold the clip spreader 44 in position in passage 24.

Cam block actuator 54 has a threaded end 63 extending through the operating block 42 and is secured thereto by nuts 64 which also provide for adjusting the axial position of the actuator relative to the operating block. The opposite end of actuator 54 extends into a groove 66 in the cam block 47 adjacent the body block 22. Thus, the actuator 54 is driven between the cam block 47 and body block 22 within groove 66 concurrent with the movement of clip setting blade 37 within passage 24. In the course of this movement, an outwardly slanted cam surface 67 of the actuator 54 contacts a similarly inclined surface 68 in cam block 47 at the end of groove 66. Further movement of the actuator 54 thus acts to wedge the cam block 47 outwardly from body block 22 against the action of springs 61. A notch 70 in the spreader 44 receives the end of actuator 54 at the extreme position of travel thereof to avoid interference between the two members.

Movement of the cam block 47 in this manner withdraws the clip spreader from passage 24 and the spread ends of the clip 18 begin to spring back toward their normal position. As shown in FIGURE 4, the relative positions of the cam surface 67 of actuator 54, and the inclined surface 68 of the cam block 47 are positioned so that this withdrawal of the clip spreader 44 occurs after the arms 26 of the clip have moved into an overlapping relationship to the bundle 17. Motion of the clip 18 onto the bundle 17 continues after the clip spreader has been withdrawn and the clip reaches its final position as illustrated in FIGURE 5.

The cylinder rod 14 then retracts returning the clip setting blade 37 to the initial position, and withdrawing actuator 54 from the cam block 44 so that the springs 61 return the clip spreader to its transverse position in passage 24, thereby readying the apparatus for a subsequent cycle of operation.

It will be apparent that many modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, and it is not intended to limit the invention except as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mechanism for applying bundling clips to articles, said clips being of the class having spaced apart resilient arms, the combination comprising:

a movable clip setting blade for driving said clips towards said articles along a predetermined path,

a clip spreader movable transversely with respect to said path and having a wedging surface inclined with respect to the direction of movement of said clips for spreading said arms thereof, said clip spreader having a first position at which said wedging surface extends across the path of said clips and having a second position in which said wedging surface is retracted sidewardly from said path, and

means for moving said clip spreader from said first position thereof to said second position thereof as said clips are driven towards said articles and following spreading of said arms thereof.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 and further comprising;

a cam block carrying said clip spreader, and

a cam actuator element arranged for movement concurrent with movement of said 'clip setting blade and positioned to bear against said cam block to move said clip spreader from said first position thereof to said second position thereof.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said clip spreader has a pair of said wedging surfaces sloped in opposed directions to be contacted by separate ones of said arms as said clips approach said articles.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 further comprising a resilient element acting on said clip spreader to urge said clip spreader towards said first position thereof.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 further comprising a fluid operated drive cylinder operatively coupled to said clip setting blade, and

an actuator coupled to said drive cylinder for movement in conjunction with movement of said clip setting blade and operative to move said clip spreader from said first position thereof to said second position thereof at a predetermined point in the movement of said clip setting blade.

6. The combination defined in claim 5 futher comprising means for selectively adjusting the position of said actuator element relative to said clip setting blade whereby the timing of retraction of said clip spreader from said clip path relative to the movement of said clips therealong may be adjusted.

7. The combination defined in claim 1 further comprising:

a clip retainer having an end adjacent said predetermined path for carrying a supply of said clips, means urging said supply of clips along said retainer and towards said path, and

an element adjacent said predetermined path and opposite from said retainer for holding successive ones of said clips at said path following movements of said blade.

8. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said path is defined by means forming a guide passage for said clips and having a pair of parallel blocks spaced apart to form said passage, a first of said blocks having an opening therethrough for continuously feeding said clips into said passage, said combination further comprising:

a cam block disposed on the second of said blocks and having a groove adjacent said second block, said clip spreader being secured to said cam block,

resilient means urging said cam block against said second block, and

a cam actuator coupled to said clip setting blade for movement concurrent with movement of said blade and extending into said groove of said cam block, said actuator having a section of surface which is slanted with respect to the remainder thereof and positioned to wedge said cam block away from said second block in the course of movement of said blade thereby moving said clip spreader from said first position to said second position thereof.

9. The combination defined in claim 8 wherein said groove of said cam block and said actuator are parallel to said clip setting blade and said guide passage, and further comprising:

a drive motor of the class producing linear motion, and

means coupling said blade and said actuator to said motor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,814,859 12/1957 Erdmann 29-229 2,862,289 12/1958 Womack et al. 29-225 X 3,101,528 8/1963 Erdmann 29-211 3,137,932 6/1964 Erdmann 29-211 3,266,133 8/1966 Kalbow 29-211 THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

